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T O P I C R E V I E W

Robert Pearlman

Nature reports that National Air and Space Museum conservator Lisa Young and curator Cathy Lewis are overseeing the move of the Apollo spacesuits — packed in coffins — from their current home, the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration and Storage Facility in Suitland, Maryland, to a newer and better facility.

The coffins were Young's creative solution to the problem of keeping the collection of some 270 suits flat and unharmed on the journey.

"We have come up with a retrofitted casket from the airline industry," says Young. "We lined it to make sure it would be waterproof. And we have seatbelts in there so the suits don't move," she says.

The caskets will be packed into climate-controlled boxes and shipped an hour down the road to their new home — the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia — where visitors will be able to watch through glass as conservators study the precious cargo.

The care and planning that Young and her colleagues are putting into the move is testament to the suits' fragility and value. "These are national treasures," says Lewis. "There's evidence in the suits that needs to be preserved."

Rusty B

In 1968, you could have your nephew deliver it personally. That's what James Lovell did with with his Gemini 7 spacesuit when it was to be displayed on a local television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

See "Wears Uncle's Old Suit" (Nov 18, 1968) to picture of Lovell's 16 year old nephew wearing the spacesuit on the street. Scroll up to see picture.

Lou Chinal

Is Lisa Young related to Amanda Young?

PeterO

Yes. From the article cited above,

...when Young and her mother-in-law Amanda Young worked together...

Joel Katzowitz

In 1989 I was designing the US Astronaut Hall of Fame and a representative from the Space and Rocket Center was collecting artifacts from the Mercury astronauts and shipping them to our office in Atlanta. I remember opening a sealed cardboard box and pulling out Grissom's "silver" Goodyear boots and then discovered his helmet along with the rest of his MR-4 flight suit. We contacted the Smithsonian who then took the artifacts for restoration and then inclusion into the AHOF.

Yes, it was the same spacesuit that caused the dispute between NASA and the Grissom family over ownership.

And yes, I have a photo of myself holding the helmet standing next to a full size cutout of the M7 silver spacesuit image. For that day at least, it was move over Bill Dana, I'm the 8th Mercury Astronaut.

Robert Pearlman

quote:Originally posted by Joel Katzowitz:...and then discovered his helmet

That particular helmet has since been identified as a training unit. The flown helmet (confirmed by its serial number) is in Mitchell, Indiana at the Grissom Memorial.

Joel Katzowitz

Thanks for the update Robert. At the time I don't we had any confirm if any of the artifacts were in fact flown on MR-4.

NAAmodel#240

Chris Calle has photos of himself and his brother trying on Gordo Cooper's Mercury suit at his Calleart website. His father Paul had borrowed it for a painting.

FFrench

Two days ago I had the great fortune to be invited, in the company of Al Worden, to visit his flown space suit and helmet at Garber. The curators mentioned this would be one of the very last visits before the suits are moved. They are of course kept in very careful climate-controlled archival conditions, and you can see Al is wearing archive-quality gloves in this Smithsonian photo.

I was told the suit under the shroud to the right of Al's elbow is Armstrong's flown Apollo 11 suit. I was left with the impression of a very dedicated team committed to studying and preserving these irreplaceable suits for future generations.

Atlantis

quote:Originally posted by Rusty B:See "Wears Uncle's Old Suit" (Nov 18, 1968) to picture of Lovell's 16 year old nephew wearing the spacesuit on the street. Scroll up to see picture.